Hello, i've followed the advice of other fodorites on a previous post and booked 3 hotels in N.Y. for our Christmas trip.
(Unless close to the date i'll find special deals, i'll stick with one of the following. I just need your advice on which one: (prices are with taxes)
Courtyard Times Square: 1880$ for 7 nights
Dylan Hotel: 1950$
Novotel Times Square: 1914$
Fitzpatrick Grand Central Hotel: 1730$

The Fitzpatrick has very good reviews and it's the cheapest of all the above. But i'm more of a contemporary hotel kind of person, so i'm not very keen on fitzpatrick's decoration (as i see it on their site). I like the style of Dylan a lot.

Although i think that the best might be the Courtyard with decent rooms and very central?

I have to make my final decision so which one WOULD YOU choose?

I would go for the Courtyard Times Square out of these. I would also check prices for the Library and the Residence Inn.

While it's not fair to book a lot of hotels you don't plan to use, I wonder why you feel pressured to make your final decision now? What exactly was the advice you read?

For a Christmas-season trip, I'd avoid Times Square at all costs because of the huge crowds. The Fitzpatrick has a very convenient location and is within easy walking distance of Rockefeller Center and the tree, and you can jump on the shuttle and go directly from your hotel door to Times Square in 10 minutes (including time to walk through Grand Central to catch it). If hotel decor really matters to you, then choose the Dylan, but I doubt you'll be in your room enough that it will matter.

I've stayed at the Fitzpatrick before and it is quite lovely. In fact, we put up our out of town guests there and spent our wedding night there. The staff is very helpful, the rooms are nice (and large by NY standards) and there is a pub in the lobby area with surprisingly good food.

As Doug says, it is very conveniently located too. It would be my first choice.

I've stayed at the Fitzpatrick before and it is quite lovely. In fact, we put up our out of town guests there and spent our wedding night there. The staff is very helpful, the rooms are nice (and large by NY standards) and there is a pub in the lobby area with surprisingly good food.

As Doug says, it is very conveniently located too. It would be my first choice. A courtyard by Marriott is just that -- a courtyard. One looks just like the other and they are nothing special.

Sorry for the double post!

I respectfully disagree with Doug on this one. First, that Courtyard is not really in Times Square and second, the area around Grand Central will be mobbed too with the Xmas market there.I think the Dylan's a nice hotel but I wouldn't pay that price.

There are dozens of other options that you haven't mentioned. The Intercontinental Barclay appears to be around the same price and is very nice.

Mclaurie, you and Doug_Stallings gave me the advice on a previous post of mine, to book 2-3 hotels that i like and cancel them later!
The reason i would like to make my decision now, is exactly for the reason you mentioned above. That i don't find it fair for other to 'hold' the rooms a long time.
One thing is for sure. I will cancel the Novotel now. I haven't booked the Dylan yet but i'me seriously thinking about that.
Mclaurie i've just checked the Barclay Intercontinental and it's more expensive (about 2100$)

Although a "Courtyard is a Courtyard", we stayed at the Midtown East one last year and found it to be an excellent, if uninspired, choice. The room was huge (not sure about the Times Square version) - big enough for 2 beds AND a sitting area. The people were incredibly friendly and gracious. On the same trip, my son stayed at the Barclay's and it is beautiful -- more old-world, of course.

Aha! I don't know your specific dates, but when I looked on kayak.com around Xmas (I think I checked Dec 20-27) the Barclay was around the same price.

Hmm... Our dates are indeed 21/28 December. I've checked the hotel site directly and they give me a good price but fully prepaid and not cancellable. (and i definitely don't want that!!!) Otherwise it's 2100$ for the total stay!

You're correct, it's an advance purchase price. I hadn't seen that. #39;(

Have you looked into the Radisson Lexington, or the Hudson Hotel (across from Central Park at Columbus Circle)? Better than the areas, IMHO, that the other hotels are in (more real New York-y, and yet very central.).

Not sure how many rooms you want.

Here's the site for Hudson Hotel (a modern/contemporary hotel).

www.hudsonhotel.com

Hudson has some good prices (i've checked that hotel some time ago) but some friends went there last year and although they liked the decor etc, they told me that the rooms were really tiny!!! And for 7 nights i think i'll go mad ;-)

Perhaps if you upgraded, the room would be bigger but still a good price? You can always call them and ask!

The Hudson has super small rooms even by NYC standards. I've stayed in both the Dylan and the Fitzpatrick Grand Central. Of the two, I preferred the Fitzpatrick. The rooms (while traditional in decor) were larger and the staff was much more helpful.

We just stayed at the Hotel Giraffe-South Park around 26th St. - well out of the mass of humanity that NY becomes at the holidays. It was modern, clean, beautiful. About $250/night in June a very good rate for NY. Two blocks from the Lexington Ave subway. PLUS: breakfast included, 5-7pm Managers Reception(beer wine cheese crackers) AND LATE CHECK OUT of 1pm! How lovely and rare it was to not have to rush out by 11am!

We've just decided to go to NY for Thanksgiving and of course many hotels are already full. We also need two beds (3 people). Any other recommendations for hotels with not-so-tiny rooms would be appreciated.

Since you are going for what is, perhaps, the busiest single week in NYC all year, you had better look for hotels you can afford and then do a secondary check to see if the rooms can hold 2 double beds. As many posters have pointed out, it's often an upgrade to a basic room that includes 2 doubles. And expect to pay over $400 for a regular run-of-the-mill hotel room during that week. I hope you can do better, though.